Track rail contactor



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 `fune 8, 1937. H. L BONE TRACK RAIL CONTACTOR Filed Jan. 22, 1955 June s, 1937. H, L. BONE 2,083,288

TRACK RAIL CONTAC TOR i Filed Jan. 22, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 ngz 1 V Vi@ )gf gg I INVENTOR BY HerbefLQne HIS ATTORNEY Patented June 8, 1937 UNI-TED STATES PATENT al FEEQE TRACK RAIL CONTACTOR Application January 22, 1935, Serial No. 2,849

4 Claims.

My invention relates to track rail contactors, and particularly to track rail contactors adapted for use with apparatus for the automatic control of car retarders in accordance with the speed 5 of a car approaching 0r passing through the retarder.

One object of my invention is to provide a contactor of the type described having parts which are light in weight but which are sufliciently rugged to withstand the severe service to which contactors of this type are subjected.

Another object of my invention is to provide a contactor of the type described which can be conveniently used within the limits of a car retarder l5 without physically interfering with the satisfactory operation of the car retarder.

A further object of my invention is to provide a contactor which will return to its normal position without lag after a car wheel passes it.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a contacter of the type described which may be attached to a track rail in such manner that it may be removed from the rail without disturbing either the rail or the ties, and without objectionable delay to traffic.

I will describe two forms of rail contactors embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a view,

partly in elevation and partly in section, showing one form of rail contacter embodying my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are left-hand and right-hand side views respectively of a treadle device forming a portion of the contacter shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a left-hand end view of the circuit controller U forming part of the contactor illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a View, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing a modified form of a portion of the contactor shown in Fig. 1.

,w Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character l designates one track rail of a railway track. Associated with the track rail I is a 5 treadle device comprisingatreadlesupport4 which is clamped to the rail I by means of clamps 2 and bolts The support ll may have any preferr-ed construction, but in the form here shown, this support comprises two spaced end members fla and lb connected together by a web 4C. Each end member is formed with a base portion 4d (see Fig. l) which projects under the base flange of the rail, and with an integral upwardly extending angle bar portion le which snugly fits the fishing 5r, space la of the rail I on the outer side of the rail, and which forms with the base portion a recess if which receives the base flange of the rail in the manner shown. The base portion 4d of each end member cooperates with one of the clamps 2, and is provided with a suitable screwthreaded hole 4g for the reception of the associated bolt 3.

The upper portion of each end member is provided with an outwardly facing circular recess 4h (see Fig. 2) which aligns axially with the recess in the other end member, and disposed within the recesses 4h are journals 5 and 5, respectively. These journals receive with some clearance trunnions 'I and 8 which are bolted to end members 9 and II! forming part of a treadle II, whereby the treadle I l is pivotally attached to the support il. The journals E and have a slip t in the recesses 4h, so that they can easily be removed for replacement, and these journals are prevented from rotating by means of lugs lli and 4k formed on the end members, which lugs engage the journals at flattened portions 5a and 6a in l a manner which will be readily understood from` an inspection of Figs. 1 and 2. The recesses 4h are made somewhat deeper than the lengths of the journals to form a reservoir for a suitable lubricant, and grease fittings I2 are provided to enable the lubricant to be readily inserted into the reservoirs thus formed.

The end members 9 and Ill of the treadle I I are substantially U-shaped (see Fig. 1) and are connected together by a plurality of cross members I3, I4, I5 and I5, the cross members I2', I4 and I5 being located adjacent the upper part of the treadle on one side of the rail i, as shown in Fig. 3, and the cross member I l5 being located near the lower part of the treadle on the other side of the rail, as shown in Fig. 2. Two compressed coil springs I8 and I9 are each fastened at one end of the cross member iii by means of suitable clips 20, and the other end of each of these springs is hooked onto a bar 2l which is fastened at both ends to the support l by means of the bolts 3, whereby the treadle is biased to a position in which the upper part of the treadle on the inside of the rail is disposed near the top of the rail in such a position that the flange of each car wheel which passes the treadle will engage the treadle and rotate it through a limited angle in a clockwise direction. The springs are preferably disposed adjacent the opposite ends of the treadle to distribute the pressure on the treadle, and to eliminate any distortion which might result`if the spring pressure were not properly distributed. To prevent wear on the treadle proper caused by engagement of the flanges of the car wheels with the treadle, a suitable wearing plate I 5a is bolted to the treadle by means of bolts 22 which pass through the wearing plate, and through the cross members I5 and It, these bolts being provided at their lower ends with nuts 23. It will be apparent that, when the wearing plate I5a becomes worn, it may readily be replaced by a new wearing plate.

A depending lug 25 is formed on the bottom of each end member of the treadle I I, and pivotally connected at one end with the treadle by means of a pin 26 which is mounted in one of the lugs is a push rod 21. This push rod is adjustable in length, and is connected at its free end with the operating crank 28 of a circuit controller, designated as a whole by the reference character U.

The circuit controller U may be of any desired type, but in the well-known form here shown, this circuit controller comprises a suitable casing 29 which is adapted to be secured to the ties or other foundation at one side of the rail I, and which is closed at its upper end by a removable cover 30. Disposed within the casing 29 adjacent one end thereof is a transverse panel 3l of insulating material, and secured to this panel by means of terminal posts 32 and 33 which are mounted in the panel are a movable Contact nger 34 and a fixed contact finger 35. The movable contact nger 34 is operatively connected, by means of links 35, with the upper end of a rocker arm 31 which is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on a pivot pin 3B mounted in a forked bracket 39. The bracket 39 is secured to the panel 3I below the terminal posts 32 and 33 by means of a bolt 49, the panel being recessed to receive the abutting portion of the bracket so that the bracket is securely held in the desired position. Two spaced rollers 4I and 42 are mounted on the rocker arm 31, and these rollers cooperate with a cam 43 secured to a transverse camshaft 44 which is journaled in the side Walls of the casing 29. The cam shaft 44 projects through the side walls of the casing 29 and carries at its outer end the previously mentioned operating crank 2B.

The cover for the casing 29 may be secured to the casing in any suitable manner, but inasmuch as the circuit controller U may at times be located beneath car retarder apparatus where there is little room for opening a cover which is hinged to the casing in the usual manner, I prefer to secure the cover to the casing by means which will facilitate its removal from the casing. Referring now also to Fig. 4, these means comprise a spring member 45 which is secured at its upper end to the left-hand side of the cover, as viewed in Fig. 1, by means of a pin 46 mounted in spaced lugs 41 formed on the cover. 'I'he spring member 45 is curved as shown, and is bent at its lower end to form a semicircular portion 45a which is adapted to hook onto a pin 4B mounted in spaced lugs formed on the casing 29. A lug 49, which is formed on the casing 29 near the top of the casing, extends between the lugs 41 on the cover, and cooperates with these lugs to properly position the cover in a lateral direction. The lug 49 is of such length that, when the cover is closed, the outer end of this lug will cooperate with the spring member 45 to locate the cover in its proper longitudinal position. The right-hand end of the cover 30 is provided with a latch 53 of the usual and well-known type. The length of the spring member 45 is such, and the parts are so proportioned, that when the cover is latched in place suficient downward pressure will be exerted on the cover to insure a tight seal.

With the means for fastening the cover to the casing constructed in the manner just described when it is desired to remove the cover, the latch 5U at the right-hand end of the casing, as viewed in Fig. l, is released, and the cover is first rotated upwardly at its right-hand end and is then moved toward the left. This movement of the cover will cause the spring member 45 to become disengaged from the pin 48, and the cover may then be lifted away from the casing in an obvious manner. The procedure to replace the cover is exactly the reverse oi that just described and will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings without further description.

The operation of the apparatus as a whole is as follows: When the treadle II occupies its normal position in which it is shown in the drawings, as is the case when no car wheel is engaging the treadle, the camshaft 44 is held in 'the position in which the cam 43 engages the roller 42 and is out oi engagement with the roller 4 I, and under these conditions the movable contact finger 34 is ilrmly held in engagement with the iixed contact finger thus causing the contact 34-35 formed by these fingers to be closed. When, however, the treadle is rotated away from its normal position by a wheel, the push rod 21 moves toward the right, as viewed in Fig. l, and rotates the operating crank 26 and camshaft 44 in a clockwise direction to the position in which the cam 43 is out of engagement with the roller 42 and is engaging the roller 4I, and under these conditions the rocker arm 31 will be rotated to a positien in which the contact nger 34 is moved out of engagement with the contact ringer 35, thus opening the contact 34-35 As soon as a car wheel which has moved the treadle away from its normal position moves out of engagement with the treadle, the springs I3 and I9 will, of course, immediately restore the parts to the positions in which they are shown in Fig. l. The strengths of the springs iii and I9 are such that either spring alone will return the parts to their normal positions aiter the treadle has been actuated by a car wheel, and it will be apparent therefore that the device will continue to operate in the event that one of the springs breaks. The length of the treadle II may be varied as conditions require, but will usually be less than the distance between two car wheels of the same car truck.

Referring now to Fig. 5, I have here shown a spring assembly S which may be used in place of, or in conjunction with, the springs I8 and I9 to bias the parts to their normal positions. This spring assembly comprises a. tubular casing 52, one end of which is provided with an end cap 53, and the other end 0f which is provided with an end pla 54 having an axially disposed hole 55. A spring rod 56 exten-ds into the casing 52 through the hole 55, and is provided at its inner end with a cylindrical member 58a which is adapted to slide freely in the casing. Surrounding the rod 56 between the end plate 54 and the cylindrical member 56u .is a compressed coil spring 51 which biases the rod and the casing to the relative positions in which the cylindrical member 5S@ is located contiguous to the end cap 53. The outer end of the rod is secured to the casing 29 by means of a screw eye 58 and a pin 59, while the end cap 53 is pivotally connected with a crank 69 which is mounted on the camshaft 44 at the end opposite to the operating crank 28. With the spring assembly S constructed in the manner just described, it will be apparent that this spring assembly will constantly exert a force on the camshaft 44 through the medium of the end plate 54, casing 52, end

cap 53 and crank 50, which force will tend to rotate thecamshait in a clockwise direction, and which will bias the treadle and associated parts to their normal positions. The operation of the apparatus as a whole when the spring S is utilized to bias the parts to their normal positions will be obvious from the drawings without further description.

One advantage of a contactor constructed in accordance with my invention is that the treadle device may be readily removed from the rail l. To accomplish this, the push rod 21 is rst disconnected from the treadle Il, and the springs i8 and i9 are then unhooked from the cross member it. The trunnions and 8 are next unbolted from the treadle l I, whereupon the treadle may be slipped off the rail. The clips 2 are next removed from the support 4 by removing the bolts 3, and the support may then be lifted laterally away from the rail.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of track rail contactors embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus describe-d my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination with a track rail, a treadle support comprising two spaced end members Connected together by a web, each said end member being formed with a base portion which projects under the base iiange of the rail and with an integral upwardly extending angle bar portion which snugly ts the fishing space of the rail on the outer side of the rail and which forms with the base portion a pocket which receives the base ange of the rail on one side of the rail, means for securely clamping said support to the rail, two outwardly facing axially aligned journals one disposed in the upper portion of each end member of said support, each said journal being provided at its outer end with a flattened portion which cooperates with a lug on the adjacent end member to provent the journal from turning, a treadle provide-d with trunnions which extend into said journals and with wheel engaging means located on the opposite side of the rail from said trunnions, and means for biasing said treadle to a position in which each car wheel which passes said treadle will engage said treadle at said wheel engaging means and cause rotation of said treadle in opposition to the bias of said biasing means.

2. In combination with a track rail, a treadle support comprising two spaced end members connected together by a web, each said end member being formed with a base portion which projects under the base flange of the rail and with an integral upwardly extending angle bar portion which snugly ts the fishing space of the rail on the outer side of the rail and which forms with the base portion a pocket which receives the base flange of the rail on one side o the rail, means for securely clamping said support to the rail, two outwardly facing axially aligned journals one disposed in the upper portion of each end member of said support, each said journal being provided at its outer end with a flattened portion which cooperates with a lug on the adjacent end member to prevent the journal from turning, a treadle provided with trunnions which extend into said journals and with wheel'engaging means located on the opposite side of the rail from said trunnions, means for biasing said treadle to a position in which each car wheel which passes said treadle will engage said treadle at said wheel engaging means and cause rotation of said treadle in opposition to the bias of said biasing means, and a push rod pivotally connected with said treadle in such manner that rotation of said treadle will cause longitudinal movement of said push rod at right angles to the rail for transmitting the motion of the treadle to a device which is to be operated thereby.

3. In combination with a track rail, a treadle support comprising two spaced end members connected together by a web, each said end member being formed with a base portion which projects under the base iiange of the rail and with an integral upwardly extending angle bar portion which snugly fits the iishing space of the rail on the outer side of the rail and which forms with the base portion a pocket which receives the base flange of the rail on one side of the rail, each said end member being further provided in the end of the base portion with a screwthreaded hole and in the upper portion with an outwardly facing recess, two clamps engaging the base flange of the rail on the opposite side of the rail from said end members and each provided with a hole which aligns with the hole in the associated end member, two bolts one extending through each clamp and each screwed into the hole in the associated end member whereby said support is securely clamped to the rail, two journals one disposed in the recess in each end member, and a treadle provided with removable trunnions which extend into said journals and biased to a position in which the flange ,of each car wheel which paisses said treadle will rotate said treadle through a limited angle.

4. In combination with a track rail, a treadle support comprising two spaced end members connected together by a web, each said end member being formed with a base portion which projects under the base flange of the rail and with an integral upwardly extending angle bar portion which snugly its the fishing space of the rail on the outer side of the rail and which forms with the base portion a pocket which receives the base flange of the rail on one side of the rail, each said end member being further provided in the end of the base portion with a screw-threaded hole and in the upper portion with an outwardly facing recess, two clamps engaging the base iiange of the rail on the opposite side of the rail from said end provided with a hole which aligns with the hole in the associated end member, two bolts one extending through each clamp and each screwed into the hole in the associated end member whereby said support is securely clamped to the rail, two journals one disposed in the recess in each end member, a treadle `comprising two substantially U-shaped end members connected together by cross members, said treadle being disposed with the arms of each U-shaped end member extending upwardly on opposite sides of the rail, two trunnions one removably fastened to one arm of each U-shaped end member of said treadle and each extending into one of said journals whereby said treadle is pivotally attached to said support, a wearing plate secured to said treadle on the opposite side of the rail from said trunnions, and means for biasing said treadle to a position in which the ange of each car wheel which passes said treadle will engage said wearing plate and will rotate said treadle through a limited angle in opposition to its bias.

HERBERT L. BONE.

members and each l 

